Phantom of the Arts Magnet
by lovephantomperson
Summary: Generations after Eriks dissapearance, New Yorks famous "Fame" school gets it's own ghost, and a rising artist realises that her angel isn't who she thinks he is.
1. Prologue

This was my first idea for a fan fiction, I started it, then quit because of school, then got into writing the Phan guide. Please give me constructive criticism and help me become a better writer... please be honest, not mean. Enjoy! I do not own any ideas for Phantom of the Opera, I just want to put it in a modern New York City enviornment.

* * *

><p>Prologue<p>

It was almost a year since Erik let Christine go, and something odd happened. Erik was playing his organ, preparing for a new opera he has been living off of ever since that fateful day he let Christine go. He had a boat ticket to New York City, for he needed to get away, and soon.

A babies cry came from outside the lake with the yelling of a familiar voice.

"Erik, it's me please let me in," Madame Giry yelled as loud as she could. Erik pulled the lever to let her in, wanting to know what was crying so loudly.

"Christine gave me a child, claiming it was yours, and she wanted me to give him to you. I don't know how this happened, but you need to take care of him," and as Madame Giry explained, Erik looked at the tiny son that apparently belonged to him. He had a flawless face like his mother and striking black hair and green eyes like Erik.

'How did this happen? I don't remember... oh wait. The night before her wedding, and I brought her down we..."

Erik's face turned paler than usual, and Madame Giry seemed to notice.

"Why don't we send him to an orphanage, I see that you aren't ready for this."

"No! He is the only thing that will help me cope through this depression I have,"Erik held the small child with so much care and compassion. He looked at the baby and smiled, ' I have created a beautiful living thing.'

"Madame, I need you to get me enough baby clothes that will last for about two months, and another boat ticket to New York. I intend to keep little Alexander with me until the day I die."

When the boat landed in New York, it was June of 1882, and times were hard for Erik and little Alexander. Erik got a job at Coney Island by doing magic tricks in the side show to help him and Alexander live off the streets. Alexander developed a beautiful voice like Erik's over the years. Then twenty years later Alexander had married a young artistic girl, whom Erik approved of, and had a young boy himself, who happened to carry the gene of a disfigured face and beautiful voice. Erik loved his son and his grandson, Gustave, and kept his promise he made to Madame Giry. Finally in 1914 , Erik died, and there was much mourning from Alexander and young Gustave .

The family gene moved on from son to son and the married men would only have one child with their wifes. These descendants of Erik always stayed close to the arts and were known as an artistic family group. By 1993 another disfigured child was born and neglected by his mother. The father died a month before the birth and the mother hated how he looked so much like his father. When the child turned 10, he ran away to New York City never to be seen again.

Or so people thought.

* * *

><p>Claire was a nervous wreck. She couldn't sleep and tomorrow was going to be the most important day of her 14 year old life. She hesitated to look at the clock, knowing that the time would go slower than normal. It was 2:07, too early to get up, but too late to fall asleep.<p>

"What if I fail," Claire whispered to her wall. But the voice beyond the wall wasn't answering instantly like it usually did, for the wall answered these questions quickly when Claire asked. Claire was waiting for the walls answer, and while waiting, wanting to know who was always talking to her through the thin apartment wall. It didn't sound like Gibby, the annoying 11 year old brat that lived next door that she babysat for minimum wage, but a boy older than her, but not much older.

She looked at the clock again, "Damn, its still 2." She stared at the ceiling and started to count to one million (that was one of the only things that relaxed her; that and hearing the heavenly voice of the hidden man.) Slowly she drifted to a hypnotizing sleep only hearing in her dreams, "You won't fail love, now sleep. You will need the energy for tomorrow."

Claire was auditioning for a famous school, PA, for visual art so that she could paint and draw for and with the man behind the wall. He loved her art and gave it honest critiques so it could be perfected. She hoped to meet him soon and was always drawing pictures of what she thought he looked like. Every time she finished a sketch of a charming man she showed it to the wall and it always told her that it was a good sketch but would never tell her or show her what he really looked like. Every time he said that Claire got a disappointed look on her face, her blue eyes looked down and teared up.

Because he had never been seen by her, Claire thinks of him as her artistic angel. She only hears him when she is in her room(which was also her art studio) and sometimes his advise from her room carries over to her school class, and helped her earn the title of the best artist in the advanced class, a huge accomplishment for her.

She learned about PA from her artistic angel, who helped her convince her mom to audition for the visual arts department, fill out her application, and clean up her portfolio so it could be presentable for the teachers who would be judging her. She was exited about this moment, but almost felt like backing away from it.

It wasn't too long ago, about when Claire was 10 years old, her father died from cancer. He was an art dealer, a painter in New York, and Claire's best friend. He was Claire's biggest fan on her art and always offered to put it in his collection to sell, "It would be one of the most important pieces in the collection darling." Of course nobody ever cared about a seven year olds art, so it never sold. She was so close to him that his death impacted her in the most effective way.

The day of her fathers death Claire swore that she would never create a piece of art again. Yet she never got rid of her supplies; she only hid them, knowing that when she looked at the brushes and paint she would start to remember her kind father.

On her first day of sixth grade, she stepped into a school art room for the first time in two years. There was a mix up in her schedule, and the paper claimed that she was to take art classes. Her mom told her she would get it fixed before school started. Sadly, her mother never got a response from the request of the schedule change, and Claire was forced to go to the art class. The smell of paint mixed with the smell of fresh paper, wood, and glue, wafted through her nose, bringing back memories of her fathers art studio. The teacher asked if there were any students that had parents who worked in an art industry. Claire slowly raised her had, only to regret it later when the teacher asked her about it. Her throat started to swell, along with her eyes, and as she opened her mouth the counselor came in, asking to see her. Apparently her mom called, explaining the situation of her late father, and had everything sorted out. The counselor took her back to her office, giving her a tissue and her new schedule.

It was a sorrowful experience for her, and when she got home fell to her bed sobbing, calling the father that she would never be able to see again. That was also the day that she started to hear her artistic angel. His voice boomed in her ear and at first she ran out of her room, screaming for her mother asking her if she had heard the same bellowing voice. When her mother replied that the only sound that she heard was the rambunctious streets of New York. When her mother left the room, the captivating voice told her that he was there to help her develop her love for art again. He convinced her to start again to create art and if she got good enough that she could honer her father and become a famous artist.

"It would please your father to know that his little girl was doing well in her life"

Claire thought over his words, thinking he was correct. Her father wouldn't want her to dwell on the past and lose her passion for creating art. She should draw and paint in his name and his memory, so he would not be disappointed with her. She would live her life again. And with that realization coming to her, she accepted her new angels offer to have him teach her the wonders that she has forgotten over the last two years.

Little did she know that her heavenly angel had a dark secret that he could only hold until she was finally his.

* * *

><p>Instead of using Coney Island or the theaters on broadway, I thought that I could use the performing and visual arts school in New York City, better known as the Fame school. I didn't make this a crossover because I don't know enough about Fame to do so. Plus, I wanted to write up an OC for the main female, and a kind of modern Erik style guy. I also wanted to keep the age difference between them, but a very slight age difference.<p>

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

P.S. What you readers might not know is that I auditioned for an arts magnet high school and know exactly know hat is happening to Claire during her audition. I got in(yay!) and so I am basing this all on my experience at school and my imagination of what I would like to happen if phantom took place at my school.

OK... so I worked on it all day and I hope you like it, please review and tell me if there is anything you would like to see in future chapters. Thank You!


	2. Auditions I

Auditions occur! I couldn't wait to post this because I feel attached to Claire in this moment of what she/I went through in auditions.

Thank you for reading AND REVIEWING my story.

I do not own the Phantom of the Opera

* * *

><p>Auditions I<p>

Claire looked up at the dark ceiling then the clock. The neon green lights told her it was 5:30, three hours and thirty minutes after she went to sleep, but it felt like a blink of an eye (She hated that feeling of time passing by quickly). She fell asleep hearing that captivating voice, but woke up to the busy streets of New York, typical in her life. She got out of bed sluggishly and to the ice cold shower. The freezing water helped her wake up and relax.

After turning on the coffee machine in only a wet towel, she walked to her room to get dressed. When she stepped into the room her mom was there with a bag labeled 'Macy's'. Inside was a stunning purple silk top in a plaid pattern with ruffles at the front that came with the same color purple fuzzy jacket to cover the shortness of the sleeves. Claire has been keeping her eye on it at the store, and couldn't believe that her single mother would buy her such an expensive gift.

"Paige and Erin invited you to see 'The Phantom of the Opera' on Broadway after all of your auditions, and I thought this would be a perfect outfit for you to wear to both places. So, do you want to go?"

How could Claire say no? Paige and Erin were her best friends and told her nothing but good things about the show. Over endless sleepovers all they would listen to was "Point of No Return" and kept on talking about the seductive song. Plus this would be the first thing they did together since two months, besides sitting with each other at lunch, seeing how busy they were preparing for the auditions.

After her cry of joy and a million yeses to her mother, She took the new shirt and put it on with her only pair of black dress pants. She then noticed the letter on her dresser, its blood red ink stood out from the tea stained color envelope marking to whom it was addressed to. She opened the letter with confusion on how it appeared on the dresser, but also excitement from knowing who intended on her to read it.

It read: My pupil,

I now see how you have artistically grown and I'm overly proud of you. You need to know that I will be watching you and you have no need to be anxious for this challenge of your life. I intend on hearing your point of view in this part of your life.

You are powerful when speaking with your art. Use the medium to guide your voice through the audition. Come what may, I believe that you can reach the stars and above with your creativity. No matter what happens I will love how much you have improved since that first day you have heard me.

With much encouragement,

Your Angel

* * *

><p>Through the Taxi window, Claire could see the world that she has been trapped in for her entire life. She couldn't stand that she was always cooped up in either her school or apartment. She dreamed of leaving the city after graduation, get married to a man who she would love forever, and stay away from places that would never let her go.<p>

She longed for adventure in her life, besides the fact that any moment she could be shot in a subway by a maniac who wants "world peace". She could remember times when she had chances to see the world through school programs, but regrettably couldn't attend due to the fact that her mom could barely keep up with the bills. The only time were she left the town was to see her grandparents in New Jersey, but only to find that they hated their daughter-in-law to a point after that unforgiving Thanksgiving the only time she heard from them was from Christmas, and it was an unpersonalized card that the sent everyone they knew.

She knew with getting into PA, she would be open to scholarships to many famous art schools that she would love to be accepted into. She could see the the world if she got in, and leave New York forever.

When she arrived to the school portfolio and a basket of 3D art, she stepped toward her future. The hallways were filled with hopeful students heading to their assigned room numbers. She came to the sign up desk and picked up her room number.

While walking in the crowded hallway she could hear powerful vocal warm-ups from the music students, the precise emotion in the practicing of the theater students, and was almost knocked over by a group of dancers that galloped in the hall. Music flowed from every room of the building and she felt as if she would drown in the creativity.

Then without a warning, her eyes were covered by cold, sweaty hands. A familiar, "Guess who" came from Paige's mouth and Claire felt relief that it was only her and Erin. They exchanged 'good luck' hugs then separated, Claire to the visual art center and Paige and Erin to the theater center.

Once she reached room 203, she sat down and put her portfolio out in a way that would look appealing to who ever was judging the works. Next to her was a boy her age that seemed to flirt with her in a way that made her uncomfortable. ' I know he said he would be watching me, but that couldn't be him'

Her thoughts were interrupted by a woman that struck fear into the eyes of some of the people around her. She wasn't tall, but wasn't too short. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into a bun, and she was dressed in all black, giving her a look that made her stand out among the other teachers that would dress in full colors. A strict look was placed upon her face; a face that looked often used to make the students stay attentive. Her voice came up, sounding as strict as her face, but with a heavy French accent, "Welcome to PA, My name is Madame Blanc, the head if the visual art department, and your guide through your audition process. As you all know only a portion of the people auditioning today will be accepted to this school. You must have a score over 75 on your audition before even being considered to be accepted, and of the group with the high scores only 57 students will be accepted into the school, the rest will be on a waiting list."

Claire wasn't thinking positively after that statement. Breath wouldn't enter her body for three seconds because of the stress pressed down on her. There must be at least 60 students there and that was on only one of the three audition dates. 'Will I make it, or fall to a million bits? Yikes!'

After separating into groups of about fifteen they were directed by the senior upperclassmen of PA to four different art rooms. Claire was in the group that went to the still life room to draw the complicated still life the teachers set out for them. It consisted of woven baskets, shiny jars, rope, and corn husks. She remembered what her Angel told her, pick an interesting angle, crop it, then blank out your mind and draw.

She picked her cropping including the corn, woven basket and a shiny jar. The teacher in the room was a man, tall, and had a nice personality in his voice as he announced, "You have 30 minutes to draw after Donella hands out the pencils. I will start the clock and you will draw what you see in front of you. Don't forget to add shading and texture. Okay, now that all the pencils are all passed out, your time starts NOW! Good luck!"

Claire instantly started to draw the shapes, her mind went blank and before she knew it the teacher in the room broke the silence saying, "15 more minutes!"

'Only 15 minutes,' Claire looked at her drawing so far and saw only shapes. No shades. No texture. How blank did her mind go? She looked around, everyone else deep in thought, even the boy flirting with her was too into his drawing to notice that he was being watched. She then felt her hand start to draw the texture of the basket and her eyes look toward the still life again. Then after she finished the texture for the small basket the mentor gave another warning, "Five more minutes, if you haven't added value, start adding it now."

'Value, value... that what I forgot damn it! Crap, only five minutes to do it too,' her hand started to add value while she was panicking on the inside. 'Okay, well it could be worse. I could be in only my underwear... No wait thats stupid. This is art, what does my underwear have to do with it? Ummm... Well my hand seems to know what it wants to do. It keeps on drawing and drawing.'

Before she could finish it she heard the forbidden,"Times up! Drop your pencils and take the paper off your stand. Put them on the table by Donella and line up by the hallway. You will be directed to your next station after all of you leave the room."

Claire dripped off her paper looking at it one last time. It looked partially finished with the three jars on top of a basket with rope intertwining them. She looked at the others, and they looked almost the same, partially finished with the obvious look of jars and rope. Donella stood in the front of the door and opened it and lead the group to the hallway. They could see other groups moving out of their rooms, ready to see what else there was to do. Donella caught their attention as she started to speak.

"Okay now we need to head to the design room. It seems they aren't done yet so we will have to wait."

About five minutes passed and the boy wouldn't stop looking at her in a strange flirtatious way. It made Claire even more nervous than she felt before. Maybe he was doing that so that she wouldn't make it? Who knew.

* * *

><p>As soon as other auditioners left the design room, Claire's group filed into the design room. The tables were covered with construction paper, glue, scissors, and hole punchers. A woman who seemed to be older that all the other teachers Claire had seen the whole day, was in the room, ready to give instructions as soon as they sat down. "You will all receive a piece of card stock and you will be cutting out and gluing construction paper to it. You have 30 minutes to design a piece with your topic; anything that begins with the letter B. That is all I can give you for the topic. B as in boy, not P as in pool, or D as in dog. During your 30 minutes you will have to write one to two sentences explaining your design. To get the highest score possible try not to put glue on your fingers, as it will leave fingerprints."<p>

It sounded simple at first to Claire, but as she started to think, it became harder than anything else. She couldn't think. Before they started the teacher raised her voice again,"Oh before I forget, you must use negative space on the design. I will be walking around observing you, maybe asking questions. Is everybody ready? Nervous? Okay, your time will start now."

'Okay, B? B? What starts with B that will pop out to the teachers who will judge? Bubblegum, Nah! Battles, Hmmm... Wait no! Bubbles! Who doesn't like bubbles? What type of bubbles? Like from soap? NO, WAIT! Bubbles from carbonation! That will pop out. Okay I need Light and dark brown paper. But there's none here. But there is light and regular orange! Orange Soda! Yes!' The thoughts poured into Claire's mind like water poured into a glass. Claire took the orange paper, some hole punchers, and glue. She cut out ten of the tiny spots and glued them down( Ten down, about 500 more to go!). She kept on cutting and gluing those tiny circles until she heard, "Well what is the idea behind this work?" The teacher was behind looking over her shoulder. While keeping on pace, she told her, "Well I wanted to stand out and did bubbles. The big orange ovals behind represents orange soda as well as provides a stable background, Wile the smaller circles represent the small carbonated bubbles."

"Well keep up the good job," Claire sighed as the instructor gave her such a motivating comment. She then in a louder voice, "You have five more minutes! Don't forget that you need a sentence or two of an explanation on the back! Donella will pass out pencils for everyone that will need to start writing!"

She took a pencil from Donella and started to write the explanation she just gave the mentor. After the explanation she sat still, breathing in and out.

"Thank you for coming in, I hope the rest of your audition turns out well!"

'So do I.'

Well I hope you enjoyed that long due chapter, remember to review ( PLEASE!) and you will hear the rest of the auditions later in Auditions II


	3. Auditions II

Auditions occur! I couldn't wait to post this because I feel attached to Claire in this moment of what she/I went through in auditions.

Thank you for reading AND REVIEWING my story.

I do not own the Phantom of the Opera

* * *

><p>Auditions I<p>

Claire looked up at the dark ceiling then the clock. The neon green lights told her it was 5:30, three hours and thirty minutes after she went to sleep, but it felt like a blink of an eye (She hated that feeling of time passing by quickly). She fell asleep hearing that captivating voice, but woke up to the busy streets of New York, typical in her life. She got out of bed sluggishly and to the ice cold shower. The freezing water helped her wake up and relax.

After turning on the coffee machine in only a wet towel, she walked to her room to get dressed. When she stepped into the room her mom was there with a bag labeled 'Macy's'. Inside was a stunning purple silk top in a plaid pattern with ruffles at the front that came with the same color purple fuzzy jacket to cover the shortness of the sleeves. Claire has been keeping her eye on it at the store, and couldn't believe that her single mother would buy her such an expensive gift.

"Paige and Erin invited you to see 'The Phantom of the Opera' on Broadway after all of your auditions, and I thought this would be a perfect outfit for you to wear to both places. So, do you want to go?"

How could Claire say no? Paige and Erin were her best friends and told her nothing but good things about the show. Over endless sleepovers all they would listen to was "Point of No Return" and kept on talking about the seductive song. Plus this would be the first thing they did together since two months, besides sitting with each other at lunch, seeing how busy they were preparing for the auditions.

After her cry of joy and a million yeses to her mother, She took the new shirt and put it on with her only pair of black dress pants. She then noticed the letter on her dresser, its blood red ink stood out from the tea stained color envelope marking to whom it was addressed to. She opened the letter with confusion on how it appeared on the dresser, but also excitement from knowing who intended on her to read it.

It read: My pupil,

I now see how you have artistically grown and I'm overly proud of you. You need to know that I will be watching you and you have no need to be anxious for this challenge of your life. I intend on hearing your point of view in this part of your life.

You are powerful when speaking with your art. Use the medium to guide your voice through the audition. Come what may, I believe that you can reach the stars and above with your creativity. No matter what happens I will love how much you have improved since that first day you have heard me.

With much encouragement,

Your Angel

* * *

><p>Through the Taxi window, Claire could see the world that she has been trapped in for her entire life. She couldn't stand that she was always cooped up in either her school or apartment. She dreamed of leaving the city after graduation, get married to a man who she would love forever, and stay away from places that would never let her go.<p>

She longed for adventure in her life, besides the fact that any moment she could be shot in a subway by a maniac who wants "world peace". She could remember times when she had chances to see the world through school programs, but regrettably couldn't attend due to the fact that her mom could barely keep up with the bills. The only time were she left the town was to see her grandparents in New Jersey, but only to find that they hated their daughter-in-law to a point after that unforgiving Thanksgiving the only time she heard from them was from Christmas, and it was an unpersonalized card that the sent everyone they knew.

She knew with getting into PA, she would be open to scholarships to many famous art schools that she would love to be accepted into. She could see the the world if she got in, and leave New York forever.

When she arrived to the school portfolio and a basket of 3D art, she stepped toward her future. The hallways were filled with hopeful students heading to their assigned room numbers. She came to the sign up desk and picked up her room number.

While walking in the crowded hallway she could hear powerful vocal warm-ups from the music students, the precise emotion in the practicing of the theater students, and was almost knocked over by a group of dancers that galloped in the hall. Music flowed from every room of the building and she felt as if she would drown in the creativity.

Then without a warning, her eyes were covered by cold, sweaty hands. A familiar, "Guess who" came from Paige's mouth and Claire felt relief that it was only her and Erin. They exchanged 'good luck' hugs then separated, Claire to the visual art center and Paige and Erin to the theater center.

Once she reached room 203, she sat down and put her portfolio out in a way that would look appealing to who ever was judging the works. Next to her was a boy her age that seemed to flirt with her in a way that made her uncomfortable. ' I know he said he would be watching me, but that couldn't be him'

Her thoughts were interrupted by a woman that struck fear into the eyes of some of the people around her. She wasn't tall, but wasn't too short. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into a bun, and she was dressed in all black, giving her a look that made her stand out among the other teachers that would dress in full colors. A strict look was placed upon her face; a face that looked often used to make the students stay attentive. Her voice came up, sounding as strict as her face, but with a heavy French accent, "Welcome to PA, My name is Madame Blanc, the head if the visual art department, and your guide through your audition process. As you all know only a portion of the people auditioning today will be accepted to this school. You must have a score over 75 on your audition before even being considered to be accepted, and of the group with the high scores only 57 students will be accepted into the school, the rest will be on a waiting list."

Claire wasn't thinking positively after that statement. Breath wouldn't enter her body for three seconds because of the stress pressed down on her. There must be at least 60 students there and that was on only one of the three audition dates. 'Will I make it, or fall to a million bits? Yikes!'

After separating into groups of about fifteen they were directed by the senior upperclassmen of PA to four different art rooms. Claire was in the group that went to the still life room to draw the complicated still life the teachers set out for them. It consisted of woven baskets, shiny jars, rope, and corn husks. She remembered what her Angel told her, pick an interesting angle, crop it, then blank out your mind and draw.

She picked her cropping including the corn, woven basket and a shiny jar. The teacher in the room was a man, tall, and had a nice personality in his voice as he announced, "You have 30 minutes to draw after Donella hands out the pencils. I will start the clock and you will draw what you see in front of you. Don't forget to add shading and texture. Okay, now that all the pencils are all passed out, your time starts NOW! Good luck!"

Claire instantly started to draw the shapes, her mind went blank and before she knew it the teacher in the room broke the silence saying, "15 more minutes!"

'Only 15 minutes,' Claire looked at her drawing so far and saw only shapes. No shades. No texture. How blank did her mind go? She looked around, everyone else deep in thought, even the boy flirting with her was too into his drawing to notice that he was being watched. She then felt her hand start to draw the texture of the basket and her eyes look toward the still life again. Then after she finished the texture for the small basket the mentor gave another warning, "Five more minutes, if you haven't added value, start adding it now."

'Value, value... that what I forgot damn it! Crap, only five minutes to do it too,' her hand started to add value while she was panicking on the inside. 'Okay, well it could be worse. I could be in only my underwear... No wait thats stupid. This is art, what does my underwear have to do with it? Ummm... Well my hand seems to know what it wants to do. It keeps on drawing and drawing.'

Before she could finish it she heard the forbidden,"Times up! Drop your pencils and take the paper off your stand. Put them on the table by Donella and line up by the hallway. You will be directed to your next station after all of you leave the room."

Claire dripped off her paper looking at it one last time. It looked partially finished with the three jars on top of a basket with rope intertwining them. She looked at the others, and they looked almost the same, partially finished with the obvious look of jars and rope. Donella stood in the front of the door and opened it and lead the group to the hallway. They could see other groups moving out of their rooms, ready to see what else there was to do. Donella caught their attention as she started to speak.

"Okay now we need to head to the design room. It seems they aren't done yet so we will have to wait."

About five minutes passed and the boy wouldn't stop looking at her in a strange flirtatious way. It made Claire even more nervous than she felt before. Maybe he was doing that so that she wouldn't make it? Who knew.

* * *

><p>As soon as other auditioners left the design room, Claire's group filed into the design room. The tables were covered with construction paper, glue, scissors, and hole punchers. A woman who seemed to be older that all the other teachers Claire had seen the whole day, was in the room, ready to give instructions as soon as they sat down. "You will all receive a piece of card stock and you will be cutting out and gluing construction paper to it. You have 30 minutes to design a piece with your topic; anything that begins with the letter B. That is all I can give you for the topic. B as in boy, not P as in pool, or D as in dog. During your 30 minutes you will have to write one to two sentences explaining your design. To get the highest score possible try not to put glue on your fingers, as it will leave fingerprints."<p>

It sounded simple at first to Claire, but as she started to think, it became harder than anything else. She couldn't think. Before they started the teacher raised her voice again,"Oh before I forget, you must use negative space on the design. I will be walking around observing you, maybe asking questions. Is everybody ready? Nervous? Okay, your time will start now."

'Okay, B? B? What starts with B that will pop out to the teachers who will judge? Bubblegum, Nah! Battles, Hmmm... Wait no! Bubbles! Who doesn't like bubbles? What type of bubbles? Like from soap? NO, WAIT! Bubbles from carbonation! That will pop out. Okay I need Light and dark brown paper. But there's none here. But there is light and regular orange! Orange Soda! Yes!' The thoughts poured into Claire's mind like water poured into a glass. Claire took the orange paper, some hole punchers, and glue. She cut out ten of the tiny spots and glued them down( Ten down, about 500 more to go!). She kept on cutting and gluing those tiny circles until she heard, "Well what is the idea behind this work?" The teacher was behind looking over her shoulder. While keeping on pace, she told her, "Well I wanted to stand out and did bubbles. The big orange ovals behind represents orange soda as well as provides a stable background, Wile the smaller circles represent the small carbonated bubbles."

"Well keep up the good job," Claire sighed as the instructor gave her such a motivating comment. She then in a louder voice, "You have five more minutes! Don't forget that you need a sentence or two of an explanation on the back! Donella will pass out pencils for everyone that will need to start writing!"

She took a pencil from Donella and started to write the explanation she just gave the mentor. After the explanation she sat still, breathing in and out.

"Thank you for coming in, I hope the rest of your audition turns out well!"

'So do I.'

Well I hope you enjoyed that long due chapter, remember to review ( PLEASE!) and you will hear the rest of the auditions later in Auditions II


	4. Letters and Orientation

Please read and review... remember to review!

* * *

><p>It had only been a couple weeks since the audition day and letters of acceptance have already began to be mailed out. Claire and her friends have been waiting and hoping during this period. The first person to get their letter was Paige. She got in of course, being one of the lead actresses in their middle school, she expected it.<p>

All Erin and Claire could do from then on was to wait more, hope more, and accept that there was a chance that they would be separated from Paige, therefore losing the friendship that has long been built up. Claire had to wait for her Angel too. It had been since the auditions that she had herd from him to. She received a letter from him after she came back from The Phantom of the Opera. It was in the same format and place as the letter from that morning.

It read:

My pupil,

You have made me proud at your auditions, they would have the uppermost stupidity if they didn't accept you. With that being said you must await your letter of acceptance as well await for my return. I have an important appointment to keep that includes of me being gone and not returning until the time of the letters arrival. I will guarantee that you will get in to PA, there is no need to worry.

Your most humble teacher,

Your Angel

With the letter explaining all she knew that there was little chance of not getting in; he guaranteed it.

Two days after Paige got her letter Claire got a call from Erin, "I'm in!"

Those two words hit Claire like a knife. She needed to get in now, but her angel told her not to worry, she was guaranteed to get in. But what if he was wrong, just trying to be nice by helping as much as he could to help a hopeless case only to figure out he has failed and left her with only a piece of paper that crushed her dreams forever. She would have to kill herself if that happened.

Claire gulped and gave her polite response that almost killed her inside,"Congrats Erin, you really deserved it."

"Claire, you know that your getting in too," Claire looked at her phone in confusion, "Yes, I can hear the stress in your voice. I know you; Your all worked up about how you don't think you got in. This news from Paige and me is killing you inside. You know what, I'm going to shut up know and not let you stress anymore. Bye Claire."

Before Claire could respond she heard Erin's phone click off.

Later that afternoon Claire got a text from Paige reading 'Need chocolate therapy? Meet me Serendipity and bring ur happy feelings with u. My treat'

Erin must have called Paige after she hung up. Plus something about Frozen Hot Chocolate made Claire's world feel better.

Once she got there she found a table with not only Paige, but Paige's mother, Erin and her mom, And Claire's mother with a white envelope with her letter in. They all had smiles on their faces, Paige's the biggest; She was always the best trickster. She sat down and without even saying hello she ripped open the letter.

It read:

Miss Claire Danbury,

Thank you for applying and auditioning for PA. We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to our school in the cluster of visual art. Please notify that you agree to your acceptance by sending us the following note in the envelope back to the school. We will send additional information such as summer projects after orientation that will take place on June 1st .

Once again congratulations for being another member in our school.

Head of the Visual Art Department

Madame Blanc

"YES!" Claire's shriek of joy turned the heads of every person in the restaurant.

"I'm buying us all frozen hot chocolates" Paige's mother exclaimed. They all talked about transportation ideas for days that they would stay late at school and how they would have to stay together. After the chocolates were eaten the moms left the table

"Now we can stay best friends forever."

Claire was more excited about seeing her angel after such a long time. She practically busted the door to her room down when she got to the house. All that was different from what she last saw was a rose at the end of her bed. She knew that he would wait until her mom was asleep to speak to her like he always did. Claire longed to hear his hypnotizing voice once again.

The lights to her moms room turned off after an hour of hysterical waiting. There was a brief silence; a pause that seemed to last forever to Claire.

"I see that you are satisfied with your results of all your hard work."

"Our hard work; I couldn't do it without you. You helped me grow."

"Well you were the one that created it all. The only thing I did was guide you back to the creativity within yourself. Your effort is what got you in. Now all that you need to do is put the effort in more than ever before. You do that then you will become one of the most well known students to graduate, maybe even the most talented teen artist to live in New York. No matter what I will always be at your side."

* * *

><p>The end of the school year passed by quicker than what the friends could believe. Paige kept on telling everyone she hated that she couldn't wait until summer so that she could be a freshman at PA. Claire and Erin told everyone that they would miss the school but were happy to go to PA. At the last day of school Claire's art teacher gave her the paint brush that she loved to use every time they did a painting project.<p>

Claire knew in her heart that she wouldn't miss everyone, not even the school. She always hated going there. PA would be a fresh step that would help her get away from New York forever. She would only miss New York for seeing Erin and Paige every day. She could always visit them from wherever she would be.

The first day of summer happened to be the day of orientation. Claire agreed to have a sleepover at her house to celebrate the beginning of summer. The girls took the subway to Claire's house and signed each other's yearbooks with page long messages. They stayed up all night talking about what was going to happen next year while watching Steel Magnolias, She's the Man, Breakfast Club, and Pretty in Pink. They all woke up at noon and got dressed quickly. Paige gave herself and the other two glamorous makeovers just in case there were any cute boys. When Paige's mom came to pick them up they headed straight to PA. New and current students filled the hallways and all headed to the auditorium. They needed to meet the principal and get instructions to their next area to visit so the students could get their summer reading and art projects.

The auditorium was in the center of the campus next to the art galleries. There were separate buildings for the arts and academics. The academic building seemed dull compared to the vibrant arts building. It was covered with murals of all four clusters, each cluster seeming to have their own color, theater was blue, dance was green, music was yellow, and art was red. Once in the auditorium the friends found seats so they could sit next to each other. Before long the principal came up to the stage. There was applause and cheering.

"Hello. I'm the principal of PA, Mr. Henson. I would like to first say congratulations on getting into our school. I personally know as a former student how hard it is to get in. Now I unfortunately have some sad news for all the students that are in the school now. I am retiring from my possession and moving to Europe. I know that this is very sudden, but I would like to introduce the new co-principals, Mr. and Mrs. Brighton."

The new principals came out from the left and walked to the podium. They walked snooty and dignified toward it; obviously rich and proud of it. Mrs. Brighton had a slender figure and walked with all the poise that she seemed to have with her. She wore all dark green head to toe including an enormous hat topped with peacock feathers that covered to her Madonna blonde hair. Mr. Brighton was a mid-sized man that wore a navy blue suit. He looked more like a CEO than a principal to Claire. It looked like he has never smiled in his life and probably never will. Together they seemed a perfect couple but unlikely principals.

"We are deeply proud to say that we are not only principals, but proud parents of one of these incoming students. Our son, William, is one of the fellow theater students. William, will you care to stand up?" Mrs. Brighton talked with vanity in her voice.

There stood before the crowd a handsome boy of fourteen. His eyes were as blue as forget-me-not's, his hair was a rich honey color with naturally brown highlights. His face structure was built strong, but unique. He seemed familiar to Claire. Then he smiled; it was one of the most dazzling smiles anyone has ever seen, unforgettable. Then it hit her; Willie.

They were the sweetest of friends at five years old, almost brother and sister. They met one another at an art gallery; his parents were most fond of her father's collections and original pieces. They would spend long hours in Claire's room eating stolen chocolates from the kitchen. They gave each other nicknames to call each other, he was Willie Wally, and she was Claire Bear. He one day in the park gave Claire an innocent kiss on the cheek. Claire then knew he was the one. Claire's father liked him to, he would give him the biggest smile every time he saw him not because his parents were his biggest patrons, but because he was Claire's only friend and was the closest thing to a son he had. He moved across the country with his parents. It was the worst thing that happened to Claire so far in her life. She never heard from him until now.

After he sat down the principal made the announcement to dismiss to the different areas of the school. Everyone started to get up and Claire started to step away from her friends, then suddenly there was darkness. There was shock and fear among the crowd. Some of the small children screamed at the sudden power outage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, do not panic. We are just experiencing some lighting difficulties."

The lights then started to flicker on and off. Red lights on the stage remained on, and a rope hanging a dummy with the same clothes that the principal was wearing fell from above the stage. Screaming came from most of the people among the auditorium. The three friends were trying to find each other in the panic. There was a low chuckle coming from the speakers. Everyone could hear the principal yell hysterically, "Not again!"

The flickering suddenly stopped. There was a sense of calmness and fear in the filled auditorium. An envelope with a red seal on the back flew from the top of the stage to the podium.

Mrs. Brighton didn't seem to be happy. His face was red and his eyes gave a death glare to the principal, "You mean this has happened before?'

All the current students murdered to one another all seeming to say something about a ghost. The new students and parents seemed concerned. The principal was leading the angry couple to his office trying to explain on the way.

* * *

><p>"Would you care to tell us what the hell happened back there!" Mr. Brighton yelled at the top of his lungs to the cowering principal.<p>

"Well there have been incidents like this starting about three years ago. There was a letter on my desk after a student committed suicide in the school. The letter said that it was a ghost, making me think the ghost of the boy. He demanded many things from the school. We had to meet to his arrangements or else something terrible happened. The board thinks it's always some senior that carries along the prank from year to year. We can't do anything about it though; the school can use not having that bad publicity after the suicide."

"Well having our son come into this might not be a good idea," Mrs. Brighton looked to her husband with concern, "Robert, this could ruin our reputation by doing this. We could be run out of town and lose our sons future at Harvard. Mr. Henson, we would like to read that letter. Obviously this 'ghost' has some problems with us that we might be able to negotiate."

The letter stood on the desk, untouched from the time it was placed there. It added a horrific atmosphere to the room.

Mr. and Mrs. Brighton,  
>Most humble welcome to my school. You must know with me now is that your job here is to not mess with the art, for that is my job. You are the ones that punish the wrong doers of the schools. Your place is in the office, not the arts. I would also like to inform you that I demand that you leave gallery 5 and locker 666 for my personal use. Plus in order for there to be no chaos I demand that you leave me $20,000. That includes any senior pranks that the students try to inflict on the school.<br>I remain,  
>P.A.G.<p>

* * *

><p>All people went into the separate rooms, parents to the registration room, and new students to the rooms with the current students. Once Claire entered the room with all her new peers she saw all the commotion over what just happened. A senior came up with a spooky smile and hushed the crowd.<p>

"I will tell you everything I know, only if you promise to not get too scared." Nods came from all the wide eyed freshmen wanting to hear it all.

"There is a ghost among us. A phantom that lurks these hallways preying on the innocent students."

The other seniors tried to force back their laughter when they saw a freshman in the front become squeamish.

"He is the ghost of an upperclassman in visual art. It is said that his mother burned a side of his face on a Friday, because he pissed her off. She was never good to him; always beat him up for no reason. That night he crawled over the gate of P.A. and tried sleep on the roof of the building. The janitor found him, but left him there because he saw the burnt side of his face and knew that his mother did it. Next thing we know he is hung from the stairwell Saturday morning, dead as a doornail. The janitor called the Police and took the daed body down and put him in a storage room. Once the police come to pick him up, he was gone. The next day, a letter was delivered to Mr. Henson's house demanding for that senior's locker to be left alone, along with gallery 5. Days after Mr. Henson denied the demand he found his coffee mug filled with blood and the rope on his chair.

"The ghost supports all the arts, but especially visual. He still stalks the principal, black mailing him to keep the locker and gallery empty for all his work. The son of a bitch also gets paid 20,000 bucks a year, just to not haunt the school. He only haunts when his payment is due and no one fills the ransom box. The janitor is still searching for him, though he's never found him."

The lights went out and screams filled the room. The senior and his friends started laughing hysterically. The people that screamed started to laugh to, but out of utter embarrassment. After that the doors burst open and Madame Blanc stared the student in the eyes.

"I would keep my mouth shut if I were you Mr. Manson, unless you want that lasso around your neck instead on the principal's desk."

The horrified seniors stood up, motioning for the sitting kids to do so as well and gave them the tour of the school, they even passed locker 666 just to bother the people who screamed.

Once they were dismissed Claire ran to the front of the school to meet Paige and Erin. They were there as promised yearning to talk about the rumors they all heard of the ghost. Paige told Claire about how she and Erin agreed with the theater seniors that the ghost is really seniors pulling their pranks. Claire wouldn't admit it but she thought it might just really be a ghost.

It just needs help


End file.
